South Korea, a country heavily dependent on foreign trade and investment, was hit hard by the global economic downturn in 2008. (SeeSpecial Report.) To make matters worse, paralyzing demonstrations during the spring gave way to political deadlock in the fall. The only bright spot for the country was its better-than-expected showing at the Olympic Games in Beijing. (SeeSpecial Report.)

Despite having strengthened its economy in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, South Korea still found itself in the vortex of the 2008 global financial storm. Once again, foreign investors panicked and headed for the exits. The stock market plummeted nearly 40% for the year, while at one point the local currency lost half of its value against the U.S. dollar. Korea also experienced a trade deficit for the first time since 1997. Amazingly, the unemployment rate remained low (3.3% in November), and economic growth was positive for the year, but Pres. Lee Myung-bak warned that the economy could shrink in 2009.

Fortunately, the crisis did lead to something that two successive nuclear standoffs with North Korea had failed to accomplish, the first-ever summit between South Korea, China, and Japan, which took place on December 13. China and Japan agreed to provide South Korea with a badly needed foreign-currency swap, and the three countries agreed to make their gathering an annual occurrence.

President Lee took office in February but within weeks was facing his first political crisis as demonstrators took to the streets to protest his sudden decision to reopen the Korean market to American beef, prompting concerns about the potential importation of beef infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease. The public’s health concerns proved to be unfounded, and the popularity of U.S. beef bounced back, but the political damage had been done: President Lee’s approval rating remained low for the rest of the year. Although Lee’s Grand National Party won nearly two-thirds of the seats in National Assembly elections held in April, the party failed to pass any major legislation during the fall session, and the year closed out with a series of partisan brawls in the Assembly.

Relations with North Korea deteriorated dramatically in 2008 in the wake of the election of a more conservative president in Seoul (seeNorth Korea), but ties with the United States experienced an upswing. In March Lee was invited by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush to stay at Camp David, and he became the first South Korean president to do so. The withdrawal of Korean troops from Iraq appeared to cause little friction. At the height of the Iraq war, South Korea had been second only to the United Kingdom in terms of the number of non-U.S. troops serving in Iraq.

In the culture and sports realms, there was a mix of tragedy and triumph. One of Korea’s most beloved actresses, Choi Jin-sil, committed suicide at the age of 39 in October. The award-winning star of nearly 40 movies and television dramas, Choi had gone through a bitter public divorce and had battled depression for several years. Choi’s death was a painful reminder that South Korea had one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Earlier in the year, an arsonist destroyed a top national treasure, the 600-year-old Great South Gate (Namdaemun). Authorities vowed to rebuild it. On a brighter note, at the Olympics South Korea won a record number of gold medals (13) and placed seventh overall in the medal count, exceeding all expectations.

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